Interview with a Paramotor Crash Survivor: Jeremy's Story.

[@thatparamotorguy]

Thanks for sharing Jeremy's story! Hoping to see him back in the air soon.

[@AlexLinebrink]

Thank you! So do I.

[@Para_Ninja]

All the best to Jeremy and his family. Our local paramotor community has also had two of its best guys shatter their spines and its really rough on everyone, most of all the pilots involved. Much respect to him for coming on, even though we don't have a insta type video in this case just his emotional story can resonate through us all and perhaps make us fly a little safer.

[@AlexLinebrink]

Thank you so much for the positive thoughts and words! And best wishes to the two guys in your community as well. ❤️

[@CharChar_the1]

Can someone please tell my Uncle Jeremy that I'm so glad he is alright, I was worried about him. -Charlie

[@krembacki]

Jeremy has helped so many pilots get in the air and fall in love with this sport 🪂 I'm so proud of the progress he's made over the last few weeks! Thank you for sharing this story 🤗

[@chrishibner516]

Great job with the video, Alex. Good to hear that he's almost able to go home. Also great to hear he only touched people appropriately 🤣. Get better, Jeremy - we're all pulling for you.

[@AlexLinebrink]

😂

[@FlyBabyFlyPPG]

so sad to heard about your friend, but so good you doing great for him and chasing to help spiritual more than financial, thanks to sharing we all learn to respect our beast.

[@AlexLinebrink]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@joelkPPG]

Well done Alex, you are a great friend to Jeremy and to everyone in our group. Jeremy, keep working hard toward a full recovery. Thanks for training me in this amazing sport and I'll see you soon.

[@AlexLinebrink]

Thank you Joel! Back at you, and. I can't wait to fly with you soon ❤️

[@Sky_Pony_1_mic_sierra]

What level of wing were you on? What was the weather? Time of day? Did anyone see it? I assume you were tossing the parachute guys to someone... Thanks for sharing, hope fir a quick recovery bud.

[@AlexLinebrink]

He was on a 23m BGD Luna 2, which is usually considered in the range of high B or low C. It was an evening flight and unfortunately nobody actually saw it happen 😢, but fortunately it was at the LZ so other pilots could get to him pretty quickly. Thanks for the positive thoughts and well wishes!

[@mikes6216]

@@AlexLinebrink Anthony Vella may have had a similar crash on the BGD Luna 3. Can you tell us, were the trims out? Are the lines unsheathed on that glider (eg. easier to get a tension knot)

[@AlexLinebrink]

@@mikes6216 Nah, there's nothing related to Anthony's crash here outside of being too low for what the pilot was doing. Speedbar wasn't in use, trims weren't out, and there was no evidence of any tension knots. The glider has sheathed lines. It doesn't seem like there was any collapse of the glider (though nobody saw it happen, so it's not known for sure).

[@AlexLinebrink]

Thanks a ton to everyone for taking interest in Jeremy's story! Please consider liking the vid to help it reach more people. If you'd like to follow his recovery and/or donate to help Jeremy, you can do that on his GoFundMe here: gofund.me/ea4daf98 THANK YOU!

[@tonyparamotor9487]

1.COULD WE SEE THE VIDEO FOOTAGE? 2. WAS THERE ANY WITNESSES?. 4. THE PARACHUTE? OR RESERVE? WHY WAS U FIDDLING WITH IT FOR? AT LOW HEIGHT? WHAT WING WAS U FLYING? 5 HAS THE WING BEEN CHECKED OUT?6 HAVE YOU GOOD MEDICAL INSURANCE?7. ARE YOU A CERTIFIED PARAMOTOR INSTRUCTOR?

[@AlexLinebrink]

Hey Tony! Great questions. 1) Video Footage: I'll get with Jeremy, but I don't think there was anything really visible in the footage because it was just a single-direction go-pro. :( I'll ask Jeremy if he wants to release it though! 2) Witnesses: Sadly nobody saw him go down, but thankfully he crashed at the LZ so a lot of us were able to get over to him quickly. 3) Parachute guy: he's talking about a toy parachute guy like the one I displayed in the video. He often throws those to onlookers below to catch. 4) Wing: BGD Luna 2 23m. 5) Checking the wing: We've quickly reviewed the wing and it seems to all be in good shape. There's no evidence that this was caused by any sort of equipment malfunction. 6) Insurance: Jeremy has decent health insurance! It doesn't cover everything (especially travel and lost wages for him and his family) but it covers a lot and is a huge blessing in a time like this. 7) Jeremy is a paramotor instructor! As you probably know, there's no certification required in the US, but he's been an instructor at his school for a couple of years focused on kiting and ground work. He was actually part of the team of instructors that trained me and he was great to work with! I hope that info all helps. Thanks a ton for your interest!

[@mikes6216]

"you are the strongest guy I know".... that got him. If you would have said, "you are the most paralyzed guy I know" you might not have made him choke on the heart in his throat. The crazy thing about this sport is so many things can go wrong and the pilot always has to be on top of everything and do it right all of the times. Blaming oneself is admirable and a manly thing to do but I hope that equipment safety is going to get better!!! For example, you lead me to believe this was a bake line getting pulled in, was there enough evidence left in the netting to dis/prove the theory? It is 2024, can nobody solve this simple flappy piece of string spine destroying death issue?

[@AlexLinebrink]

That's why training and practice are important: so that as much of the safety stuff as possible becomes muscle memory. Beyond that, there's certainly more "safety" equipment that could be added, but it also adds weight, bulk, and complexity to the setup. The added weight could be prohibitive, and most people fly Paramotor because they love the simplicity and being able to fly open air like a bird. I think it's a pretty good balance right now and generally very safe. Still, like any mode of transit (or extreme sport), accidents can happen. I know Jeremy just hopes people can learn from his accident! I certainly have thought about it a lot while flying lately.

[@mikes6216]

@@AlexLinebrink Honest question, what was there to learn from this? I'll share my impression in case some feedback helps. This video is shocking, basically it is the opposite of Tucker's crash video analysis where he says paramotors dont fall from the sky for no reason. This video shows that being a paramotor pilot can leave you paralyzed randomly from one second to the next, with no explanation as to why. You can bet your booty I am going to hide this video from my gf. Maybe what I learned is insta360 cameras should be federally mandated equipment on paramotors so we all can learn from every crash as they do in GA. Also, a piece of string is all it would take to prevent brake line prop gobbling, it isnt a weight issue it is a design issue- keep the designers accountable otherwise they get more rewards spending their attention on advertising/sponsorships.

[@AlexLinebrink]

@@mikes6216 There's a whole section on lessons and takeaways in the video starting at 11:08: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWTaoHuihd1-eaMsi=Cw7wSBZKH9j1ajRG&t=668 - Mentally, avoid complacency. Just because something didn't cause a problem before doesn't mean you can let your guard down. - Gain enough altitude to recover before allowing anything to distract you from piloting (such as parachute toys, using your phone, etc). - Always stow brakes when your hands aren't on them (and gain altitude before releasing them). - And my reminder in the intro: know your risk tolerance before engaging in risky behavior. I'm not sure how many more times it could be said in the video, but as Jeremy mentioned: this was pilot error and not equipment failure. Paramotors don't just fall out of the sky. And this had nothing to do with a brake-line getting sucked into a motor - the glider and lines had no damage on them.

[@mikes6216]

@@AlexLinebrink Thanks for making it clear, not a brake line sucked in. The lessons learned- those are the most basic day 1 rules you should know before kiting for the 1st time. Another is that is takes minimum 100ft of altitude for a safe reserve toss. I wish there was a technical explanation to go from, even if you just made one up- so here is my best guess because I really would like an answer- a wing collapse from some low altitude rotor and not paying attention to the terrain to anticipate or recover a collapse. If that isnt the case I would even accept "it was a bird strike"